Rate it!

29 votes

A late equaliser from Robbie Keane gave Republic of Ireland a 1-1 World Cup qualifying Group 8 draw against 10-man Italy in Bari.

Keane smashed the ball into the bottom right corner in the 89th minute to cancel out Vincenzo Iaquinta's opener and extend Italian boss Giovanni Trapattoni's unbeaten competitive run at Ireland's helm to six matches.

The leveller came after an unusual match that saw the Irish dominate territorially but faced with a seemingly impregnable defensive brick wall laid by Italy.

Ireland's control of the ball - they had over 65 per cent of possession - came after Giampaolo Pazzini was shown a fourth-minute red card for what looked an innocuous challenge that left John O'Shea with a cut above the eye.

Replays hinted that intent was minimal, but referee Wolfgang Stark felt the Sampdoria striker led with his arm and by the letter of the law will argue he was justified to send him down the tunnel on his home debut.

Harsh sending-off aside, Stark did not have his best game.

He should have shown Italy skipper Fabio Cannavaro a second yellow card, while Ireland's Paul McShane could barely contain his anger when he was inexplicably booked after he was fouled by Iaquinta.

Ireland were also denied a clear free-kick on the edge of the box when Glenn Whelan was brought down late on, while Stephen Hunt had two penalty appeals waved away.

In their haste to get an early lead against weakened opposition, the Irish allowed space at the back that Italy soon exploited.

Andrew Pirlo played a high ball down the left channel and Lyon full-back Fabio Grosso raced on to it, easily held off McShane's challenge and placed a low ball into the path of Iaquinta, who flicked the ball home for his second goal in as many internationals.

From that moment on Ireland kept the ball well and stretched Italy's midfield but the Azzurri defended deep and utilised their superior aerial ability to rebuff Irish advances.

Hunt was sprightly down the flanks and thought he should have had a penalty when he seemed to be pushed in the area by Giorgio Chiellini.

Simon Pepe went close for Italy but struck the side-netting after Shay Given tipped a Grosso cross away from the waiting Iaquinta while Hunt forced a smart stop by Gianluigi Buffon with a well-executed dipping half-volley.

The second half saw the Irish continue to pile the pressure on as Italy tired.

Coach Marcello Lippi sensed this, so he brought defensively-minded players Angelo Comombo and Alessandro Dossena into the midfield.

It appeared to work, with Ireland toiling but - aside from Hunt's ambitious claim that Buffon brought him down after a poor touch send the Reading winger too wide - they failed to create clear-cut chances until the last five minutes, when Kevin Kilbane forced a good stop from Buffon.

Ireland sensed an opportunity, continued to battle and the breakthrough finally came when Caleb Folan bravely headed-on a long punt from keeper Shay Given and Keane was on hand to drill home the finish.

Trapattoni's men had chances to win it in injury time. Hunt had a shot deflected just over and a sequence of penalty-box pinball from the corner that followed saw the ball rebound over the bar for another corner.

Keane had a last-gasp opportunity spin inches over in the final seconds of added-time as he slid in with two Italy defenders and, in the end, it was Italy who were holding on for a well-earned point.

The result means Ireland are two points behind group leaders Italy, who have 14 points from six games.

Montenegro had a second-half penalty claim dismissed during a 0-0 draw in Georgia that kept the teams at the bottom of Group 8.

Stevan Jovetic was booked for diving when he tumbled in the area under the challenge of Georgia's Davit Odikadze in the 64th minute.

"There was clearly contact between the defender and the attacker," Montenegro coach Zoran Filipovic said afterwards. "The booking was a mistake."

Georgia, who rarely tested visiting keeper Vukasin Poleksic, are rooted to the foot of the table with three points from seven matches.

Montenegro are second from bottom with three points from five games.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria beat Cyprus 2-0 at the Vassil Levski Stadion, courtesy of goals from Ivelin Popov and Dimitar Makriev.

Reda Maher / Eurosport / Reuters